Louis CK Falls Apart In New Louie Season 4 Trailer

With Louie set to return at long last in just a matter of weeks, we're starting to see teasers that reveal actual footage from Louis CK's FX comedy series, which has been on hiatus since Fall of 2012. Based on the new trailer, ominously titled "Dying," Louie's not doing so well. And yet, he still manages to make us laugh.

"What happens after you die," Louis CK asks in the brief stand-up segment at the start of the trailer. "Actually, lots of things happen after you die... just none of them include you."

It's a little bit depressing in a funny way, but then again, that's kind of how we'd explain some of the best Louie has offered us in its first three seasons. Louis CK may very well be the modern equivalent to a sad clown, making us laugh with his problems, which he tends to shrug off. That comes through well enough in his FX series, as Louie has him playing a version of himself, comedian and single dad and all-around every-man getting by in New York. Or trying to get by. Things aren't looking so good for him this season...

We also seeing him getting beat up, possibly getting put behind bars and visiting a doctor, who seems bored with Louie's problems. It seems Louie's issue isn't "fun" enough for this doctor. At least, not as fun as a blood disease or something like that. Cut to a facial expression that leads me to think Louis CK would make a great silent film actor.

Watching Louie get smacked, ice his face and stumble around on the sidewalk, added to the above facial expression, I really think a black-and-white, silent episode of Louie could be fantastic. Or really weird. Or both.

In the meantime, here's another look at Louie's visit to the doctor:

This isn't the first time we've seen Louie at the doctor's office. I suppose having him visit medical professionals is a pretty direct way to acknowledge his own mortality, and/or find the humor in the awkwardness and tension that comes with any typical doctor's visit.